About
Lai has long been engaged in interdisciplinary research focusing on human behaviour, population dynamics, environmental changes, and infectious disease transmission and interventions. He has published ~200 book chapters and peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals, including Nature, Science, Lancet Infectious Diseases, Nature Medicine, Nature Human Behaviour, BMJ, and Nature Communications.
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- Lai is interested in understanding the transmission dynamics and intervention effectiveness for infectious diseases; Quantifying seasonal human mobility, social connectivity and migration using novel data sources, e.g. mobile phone data; Investigating spatiotemporal interactions between human behaviour, environmental change and infectious disease dynamics.
Current research
Funded by several national and international funders, as PI/project lead/Co-I in Southampton, his research focuses on spatial demography and spatial epidemiology to model human population dynamics and reveal transmission risk of infectious diseases under environmental changes. Projects in the past five years:
- Machine learning for blue line tracing and wastewater surveillance, Gates Foundation, 2025-2026
- Mapping the risk of Guinea worm disease at a high resolution using geospatial and machine learning approaches, the Carter Centre, 2024-2026
- The fear of 'here': Integrating place-based travel behaviour and detection into novel infectious disease models, National Science Foundation, 2023-2026
- Giving Rural Actors Novel data and re-Useable tools to Lead public Action in Rural area (GRANULAR), Horizon Europe Guarantee (UKRI), 2022-2026
- Human mobility models to forecast disease dynamics and the effectiveness of public health interventions, National Institute for Health (NIH), 2021-2026
- Exploring the seasonality of COVID-19, Gates Foundation, 2021-2022
- MOnitoring Outbreak events for Disease surveillance in a data science context (MOOD), EU Horizon, 2020-2024
- Quantifying Dengue Importation Risk from Southeast Asia and Environmental Suitability of Secondary Transmission in China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, 2018-2021
Research projects
Active projects
Researchers:
Completed projects
Researchers:
Sponsor: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Publications
178 publications
Page 17 of 18
Maogui Hu, Zhongjie Li, Jinfeng Wang, Lin Jia, Yilan Liao, Shengjie Lai, Yansha Guo, Dan Zhao & Weizhong Yang,
2012, PLoS ONE, 7(6), e38978-[8pp]
Type: article
Zhongjie Li, Shengjie Lai, David L. Buckeridge, Honglong Zhang, Yajia Lan & Weizhong Yang,
2012, Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 19(e1), e51-[3pp]
Type: article
Zhongjie Li, Wenwu Yin, Archie Clements, Gail Williams, Shengjie Lai, Hang Zhou, Dan Zhao, Yansha Guo, Yonghui Zhang, Jinfeng Wang, Wenbiao Hu & Weizhong Yang,
2012, BMC Infectious Diseases, 12, 132-[9pp]
Type: article
Xiao-Zhou Li, Jin-Feng Wang, Wei-Zhong Yang, Zhong-Jie Li & Shengjie Lai,
2012, Statistics in Medicine, 31(2), 177-187
DOI: 10.1002/sim.4341
Type: article
Yilan Liao, Jinfeng Wang, Weizhong Yang, Zhongjie Li, Lianmei Jin, Shengjie Lai & Xiaoying Zheng,
2012, Dili Xuebao, 67(4), 435-443
Type: article
Xiao-Zhou Li, Jin-Feng Wang, Wei-Zhong Yang, Zhong-Jie Li & Shengjie Lai,
2011, Mathematical Biosciences, 233(2), 135-142
Type: article
Yang Yang, Jin-Feng Wang, Ben Y. Reis, Mao-Gui Hu, George Christakos, Wei-Zhong Yang, Qiao Sun, Zhong-Jie Li, Xiao-Zhou Li, Sheng-Jie Lai, Hong-Yan Chen & Dao-Chen Wang,
2011, PLoS ONE, 6(8), e23428-[8pp]
Type: article
Shengjie Lai, Zhong-jie Li, Hong-long Zhang, Ya-jia Lan & Wei-zhong Yang,
2011, Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi ( Zhonghua liuxingbingxue zazhi), 32(6), 579-582
Type: article
Jin-feng Wang, Yan-Sha Guo, George Christakos, Wei-Zhong Yang, Yi-Lan Liao, Zhong-Jie Li, Xiao-Zhou Li, Shengjie Lai & Hong-Yan Chen,
2011, International Journal of Health Geographics, 10(1), 25-[10pp]
Type: article
Zhong Jie Li, Yi Lan Liao, Sheng Jie Lai, Hong Long Zhang, Chu Chu Ye, Dan Zhao, Lian Mei Jin, Jia Qi Ma, Ya Jia Lan, Jin Feng Wang & Wei Zhong Yang,
2011, Zhonghua liu xing bing xue za zhi = Zhonghua liuxingbingxue zazhi, 32(5), 436-441
Type: article
External roles and responsibilities
Name:
Frontiers in Epidemiology (Journal)
Role:
Member of editorial board
Year:
2021
Name:
International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation (Journal)
Role:
Editor
Year:
2021 - 2022
Name:
Infectious Diseases of Poverty (Journal)
Role:
Member of editorial board
Year:
2021 - 2025
Name:
Mobility modelling for displacement, migration and COVID-19 using mobile phone data
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2022
Name:
Presentation for the Session: Migration in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2021
Name:
Using phylogeographical model and mobility data to understand the spread of variants in COVID-19 resurgence, in the session of Environment and Health Research
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2021
Name:
Presenting in the session of GIScience-Informed Evaluations of COVID-19 Policy Responses
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2021
Name:
Infectious Diseases of Poverty journal - 4th online webinar (IDEA Forum)
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2021
Name:
Invited presentation in the session of Tropical Disease Situation in GMS and the Impact of COVID-19
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2020
Name:
Assessing the effects of travel and contact reductions to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic and resurgence
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2020
Name:
External examiner to examine a PhD thesis
Role:
Examiner
Year:
2020
Name:
Invited presentation for the Session: Big Data and Epidemics Response
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2020
Name:
Invited presentation in the Session: Data innovation for early warning and understanding of displacement and internal mobility
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2020
Name:
Invited talk in the Session of Ecosystem change, climate-sensitive disease, early warning and climate services
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2019
Name:
Oral and poster presentations of international travel, internal migration and disease transmission
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2019
Name:
Invited talk of the impact of seasonal population movements on mosquito-borne diseases transmission.
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2019
Name:
Presenting how population movement could be estimated to help in determining the denominator at different administrative levels
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2019
Name:
Presenting how to use mobile phone data for measuring internal migration
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2019
Name:
Invited talk of The use of mobile phone data for tourism and migration statistics
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2019
Name:
Invited presentation of exploring the use of mobile phone data for national migration statistics
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2019
Name:
Presentation of mapping population and mosquito-borne disease connectivity
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2018
Name:
Field trip of malaria surveillance and invited presentation of mapping human movements and malaria connectivity
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2018
Name:
Presenting the methodology for estimating importation and onward transmission risks of mosquito-borne diseases via air travellers
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2018
Name:
Invited talk of Modelling the spreading risk and intervention effectiveness for infectious diseases
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2022
Name:
Invited talk on Measuring human mobility, COVID-19 spread risk and intervention effectiveness
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2021
Name:
Invited talk of Measuring human mobility, COVID-19 spread risk and intervention effectiveness
Role:
Speaker
Year:
2021
Biography
Prizes
- 2021 Vice-Chancellor's Awards - Early Career (2021)
- Dean’s Prize for Research (2019)
- Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed (non-government sponsored) Students Abroad (2017)
- 2nd prize of 2016 Medical Science and Technology Award of China (2017)
- 3rd prize of 2016 Medical Science and Technology Award of China (2017)
- 2nd prize of 2016 Science and Technology Progress Award of Beijing (2016)
- 2nd prize of 2016 Science and Technology Progress Award of Beijing (2016)
- 2nd prize of 2022 Science and Technology Progress Award, Ministry of Education of P.R. China (2023)
- 2021 Vice-Chancellor's Awards - Early Career (2021)
- Dean’s Prize for Research (2019)
- Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed (non-government sponsored) Students Abroad (2017)
- 2nd prize of 2016 Medical Science and Technology Award of China (2017)
- 3rd prize of 2016 Medical Science and Technology Award of China (2017)
- 2nd prize of 2016 Science and Technology Progress Award of Beijing (2016)
- 2nd prize of 2016 Science and Technology Progress Award of Beijing (2016)
- 2nd prize of 2022 Science and Technology Progress Award, Ministry of Education of P.R. China (2023)